Because that will give you an idea how horses from, say, the Todd Pletcher stable will perform compared to the stable of, say, John Wayne.

Choosing the right stable coming to the 2008 Kentucky Derby demands stern attention to detail. Here are some betting tips that could help you strengthen your decision in picking the correct stable that will help you win big bucks.

FIRST, pick a trainer who has several talented 2008 Triple Crown series champ nominees.

Right now, trainers Nick Zito, Steve Asmussen, Bill Mott, Bob Baffert, and Todd Pletcher seem to be holding the strongest hands with each barn containing several top contenders and a few sleepers as well. These trainers are sure to rack up points on the Derby Trail with a bevy of talented 3-year-olds at their disposal.

Trainer Nick Zito has two horses that will be running for the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Cool Coal Man and Anak Nakal. Cool Coal Man won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes off of…

Ya’ think you have what it takes to bring home the WSOP bracelet? Read this.

UltimateBet.com just announced that they will hand out a large number of seats for the 2008 World Series of Poker main event, FOR FREE. You read it people, it’s for free. This will probably give ya’ll a reason to get your ass off the couch fantasizing about Maria Sharapova while nursing a nasty wrist injury.

Organizers of this promotion are hoping that it will make UltimateBet.com the best online poker room in the internet where you can win free seats to the biggest poker tournament of the year.

‘’This is an historic promotion for fans of the world’s greatest game,'’ stated UltimateBet spokesperson George MacLean. ‘’We’re handing out loads of Main Event seats and online poker fans can win one just by doing what they love, playing poker.'’

Professional poker player, Annie Duke, created the Ultimate Main Event Giveaway promotion so that more online poker players can experience competitive Texas Hold’em poker on the world’s biggest poker tournament with the best players in the world.

Annie Duke is the new Cardroom Consultant for UltimateBet.

To qualify for the promotion, UltimateBet players must simply play in any…

We can’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet Piston fans.

Yes, the Pistons did tie their best-of-seven first round series with the 76ers in the 2008 NBA playoffs, winning Game 4, 93-84 last Sunday to send it to a best-of-three affair as the series shifts back to Detroit with both teams having won two games apiece.

However, the Detroit Pistons still have to bring their A-game considering that these guys lost at home to start this best-of-seven war. You see, the Pistons dropped Game 1, losing to the 76ers 90-86, and handing over the homecourt advantage to the young kids from Philly.

Sure, the Pistons regained homecourt after tying this series 2-2 last Sunday, but the fact of the matter is, the Philadelphia 76ers now know that they can beat the Pistons on their own home floor and that’s something not many teams can claim this year, especially in the playoffs.

For what it’s worth, the Pistons will be coming in Game 5 riding high with momentum.

The pressure was on Detroit to tie the series and it definitely looked like Pistons are ready to succumb to the pressure in Game 4. They fell 46-36 at the half and the Philadelphia 76ers looked…

Whaddaya’ know, the series that we thought wouldn’t last more than five games will extend for at least six.

Yes people, the 2008 NBA playoffs first round series between the Celtics and the Hawks are tied at two games apiece. That means this best-of-seven affair will need at least games 5 and 6 before we can determine who can advance for the next round.

The Atlanta Hawks defeated the no.1 team in the NBA for the second straight game, winning 97-92 in Game 4 after beating Boston for the first time in this series at the Philips Arena two nights before.

After the Celtics saw Joe Johnson led the way for the ATL with a game-high 35 points, the C’s are looking at a best-of-three affair when this series shifts back to Boston for the pivotal Game 5.

Of course, we’re still expecting the Boston Celtics to come out of this series firing but if, for some reason, the Hawks come up with yet another shocking victory, these guys from the ATL will definitely put Boston, and the rest of the league for that matter, on notice.

Joe Johnson scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 as the Hawks surprised the Celtics again. Josh Smith scored…

That’s a certainty.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been dominating the Denver Nuggets during the first three games of this best-of-seven first round series in the 2008 NBA playoffs. Yup, it seems everything is pointed towards a sweep for L.A. once the series resumes on Monday for Game 4.

You see, the Los Angeles Lakers won easily in Game 1, winning by as many as 14 points with their 128-114 win over the Nuggets. In Game 2, it was the same story as the Lakers dominated Denver en route to a 122-107 win.

Last Saturday night, the Denver Nuggets came up with blanks for the third straight game as the Lakers routed the Nuggets, 102-84, to take a commanding 3-0 lead with a chance to close out this Nuggets team in front of their adoring fans at the Pepsi Center on Monday night for Game 4.

And in case you’re keeping score, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Lakers have defeated Denver by at least 14 points in this first-round series. (If you can still call it…)

The horse racing season officially begins with the Kentucky Derby people. Yes, we’ll pretend to be excited about it.

Every top three-year-old thoroughbred in North America will be vying for the 2008 Triple Crown series title, starting with the 2008 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville on May 3 this Saturday.

The Kentucky Derby is also known as ‘’The Run for the Roses,'’ because a lush blanket of red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each year. The Kentucky Derby, a one and one-quarter mile (2.012km) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, is the first leg of the Triple Crown championships.

The horse that comes out to win this one will normally be an instant favorite heading to the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the 2008 Triple Crown series. If the horse wins THAT and goes on to win the third and last leg of the series, which would be the Belmont Stakes, that horse will be the new Triple Crown champion, something horse racing didn’t have for quite a while.

The Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky always hosts the oldest and most popular consecutively held thoroughbred horse racing event in the United States on the very first Saturday of May. The first jewel of the Triple Crown, the…

Believe it people, F1 is already living in the age of the Iceman.

After four races into the 2008 F1 season, Ferrari ace driver Kimi Raikkonen further solidified his lead in the drivers’ championship standings after winning the latest F1 war waged in Spain.

The young Finn dominated the qualifying sessions for the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, and again was as dominant on raceday after coming up with the fastest lap of the 66-lap race, clocking a startling 1:21:670 last Sunday for Ferrari.

After Kimi Raikkonen earned his first victory of the young 2008 F1 season in Malaysia, ‘’the Iceman'’ spoiled the homecoming party of double world champion Fernando Alonso in Spain, grabbing pole position as he dominated the race from start to finish.

As for Fernando Alonso, he didn’t even finish the whole thing, ending his home grand prix with a rather pathetic DNF.

Raikkonen’s teammate, Felipe Massa, finished second fastest to give Ferrari a one-two finish. That enabled Ferrari to assume control of…

Despite getting a hard shot to the head from DeShawn Stevenson, LeBron James managed to lead the Cavs to a 100-97 win over the Wiz.

That shot probably fueled the Cavaliers to rise to the occasion as Delonte West, NOT LeBron James, came up with a three-pointer with 5.4 seconds left to give Cleveland the 100-97 victory over the Wizards as they took a commanding 3-1 lead in this first round series of the 2008 NBA playoffs.

LeBron James led the way for the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring a game-high 34 points to go with his 12 rebounds and 7 assists. With the kind of game No.23 was having (again…) EVERYBODY in the arena knew that James will take the last shot with the game tied at 97-97 with a few seconds left.

Luckily for the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James found Delonte West, as West knocked down the tiebreaking three-pointer to give the Cavs the win in Washington. DeShawn Stevenson is quickly running out of time to back up all that talk he blurted out to desecrate Cleveland’s basketball god, LeBron.

You see, LeBron James and DeShawn Stevenson have this feud going on in this year’s…

Yep, you just know I’m rooting for the Wizards to do just that.

OVER-RATED. That was the chant echoing around the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. in Game 3 as the Washington faithful got on LeBron James like an irritating rash before their Wizards, facing a 0-2 deficit in their series with Cleveland, beat the Cavaliers in convincing fashion 108-72, to give themselves a chance to tie this best-of-seven affair this Sunday in Game 4.

Those OVER-RATED chants worked perfectly too as the Washington Wizards forced Cleveland to commit costly turnovers that ultimately led the Cavaliers to take themselves out of the ballgame.

23. That’s the total number of turnovers the Cleveland Cavaliers committed in this ballgame compared to the 11 Washington had. Yup, we saw a different game than the ones we saw in the first two games of this series as the Wizards dominated the Cavaliers, winning all of the four quarters en route to the convincing victory in Game 3.

How did this happen? Was it because of the Wizards sporting new haircuts? Was it because of Colin Powell sporting a…

Bonjour tennis fans! (I’ve always wanted to say that…)

The 2008 French Open at Roland Garros will kick start from May 25 through June 8 in Paris, France, at the Stade de Roland Garros.

It is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar and the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world.

The French Open is one of the most prestigious events in tennis because of the slow playing clay surface and the five-set men’s singles matches without a tie break in the final set.

It is considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.

The Tournoi de Roland-Garros, commonly known as the French Open, is played on clay courts that usually slows down the ball and produces a high bounce compared to grass or hard courts.

The French Open championship is also the title that has prevented female players like Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, and Martina Hingis from achieving career Grand Slams.

Three time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and Belgian Justine Henin banner the…